Connecting Points

Monday, September 10, 2012

Today’s Topic: Don’t Forget to Remember

Today’s Text:  Psalm 103:1-22 (ESV)

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Saturday night was an incredible night at our church. We heard a challenging report from missionaries to Mexico while we ate pizza. Then we moved to the auditorium where we spent an hour and forty-five minutes in worship. We sang and prayed and cried out to God for personal holiness and humility before His throne. At one point Pastor Josh read from the 103rd Psalm. As he read I found myself quoting most of it with him. I wondered how the Holy Spirit had brought that to my mind so clearly.

Then this morning I remembered. Back in November of 2007 I was in the midst of a personal study of the Psalms, and had challenged everyone to spend one week letting that Psalm sink deep into our hearts. I did my thinking while I was on a tree stand most of that week during the last week of bow season. Here’s the devotional I wrote five years ago about what the Lord taught me.

As I sat in a tree early one morning, I began to remember all of the benefits of being a child of God. The words “forget not” captivated my mind. I thought about another passage of Scripture that talks about forgetting. It’s in Philippians 3:13 – 14 where Paul writes, “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” 

I began to think about the difference between forgetting some things and not forgetting others. I came to a simple solution – I am to forget everything that is of the flesh and not forget anything that is of the Spirit of God. But why? That was an easy answer for me – only the things of God are to our benefit.

Think back with me to a time that for some of us was very long ago. Go back to fourth grade for a moment, and try to remember what happened in your life at that time. Can you think of any special or meaningful events? You may come up with one or two, but overall you probably can’t remember much. What’s the reason we can remember some things and not others? Well, it’s because we assign a personal value to every event of our lives. We make a determination of its significance and importance, and within the context of that value assignment we either choose to remember it or forget it.

For example, I remember only one thing about fourth grade. We moved to a new town in April of that year, and I had to start a new school with one month left in the school year. I only remember the playground, because it was there that I gave value to an event that would cause me to remember it until now. Two of my new classmates, both girls, would chase me around that playground until they caught me, and then they would give me a kiss on the cheek. I felt accepted. I determined to always remember the benefit of that event.

Now, the big point of application. Every event of our lives has been recorded in the incredible memory bank of our brains. We may not be able to recall it, but it’s there none the less. Apart from a mental disorder, the reason we cannot recall it is because of the value we placed upon it when it happened. So when Paul says that he will forget everything that was behind him from his past, he is saying that he will assign it a new value – a value of “0”. Look at his words: “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…” (Philippians 3:7 – 8)

So what I must decide for myself, and you for yourself, is this: what value have I assigned to the things of this world, and what value do I assign to the things of God? Those things of minimal value will be forgotten. The things we treasure will be remembered. I can’t remember the names of the girls on the playground. I can vaguely remember the playground. I know the story more than I remember the event. But since fourth grade I have discovered the incredible value of being accepted by Jesus Christ. I will never forget His benefits. All that the world offers is nothing compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.

So when Satan comes and tempts with something he says has value, I still get to determine its real value for me. I choose to assign those things a value of “0”. I choose to assign the things of God a value of “10” on a scale of “10”. Now I can forget what is behind, and forget not His benefits, and press on toward the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. You can do that, too.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Today’s Topic: The Gift of the Grind                                                 

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 64:8 (ESV)  But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

For reasons I am not at liberty to share, a very well-known parable of Jesus has been on my heart. There is a very real possibility that I am going to be blessed to watch it lived out before my own eyes. There is no greater testimony to the reality of the forgiveness available from the Father than to see the process of rebellion, repentance, reconciliation, and restoration in action.

Take a moment to read this familiar story again.

Luke 15:11-32 (ESV)
¹¹ And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. ¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. ¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. ²³ And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. ²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, ²⁹ but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

Here are the points that really connect with my heart:

• Rebellion – the squandering of the Father’s property, whether it be my life, someone else’s life that was given to me as a gift, or the possessions that God gave me to use for His glory which I instead use for my own purposes and fleshly desires.
• Repentance – The New International Version reads “When he came to his senses” in verse 17. Coming to our senses reveals itself in four ways – taking responsibility for our actions before God (vs. 21); taking responsibility for how our actions affected others (vs.18); releasing all personal rights to the people against whom we sinned (vs. 19a); and willingness to assume a humble position (vs. 19b). That’s true repentance.
• Reconciliation – The son is actually embraced and received back into fellowship by a compassionate father before he can even repent, but that fact is what gives the son the confidence to repent. It is the knowledge of our compassionate Savior who loves us and wants to forgive us that propels us to repentance. The Father’s arms are a safe place for absolute honesty. Oh that others would see the same safety from us.
• Restoration – The father declares the son to still be his son! The lost has been found. There is no change in status. All rights are restored. Let the celebration begin!

This is not to be a rare occurrence in our lives today. It is the constant reality of our relationship with the Father. But it is also to be the constant reality of our relationships with others. It is a glorious display of the Father’s heart for the lost when the world sees us living this out. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save those who are lost. We are the arms of love that extend from His heart to those who are coming to repentance.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Today’s Topic: The Gift of the Grind                                                 

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 64:8 (ESV)  But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

The morning light revealed our outlook on life. As we rose from bed we were presented with two emotional options: agonizing apprehension and anxiety, or enthusiastic eagerness and excitement. The choice we made is a real statement of our outlook on life.

How did the kids react to the first day of school? How did you react to sending them off, maybe for the first time? How did you choose to look at the first day back to work after a long holiday weekend?

For many, the defining statement of their attitude is this – “Back to the grind.” For others, it is “Back to the growth.” Life is either grinding us down to make us smaller or grinding us down to make us stronger. It all depends on how we choose to look at it.

My garage is a mess right now. Three weeks ago, while using my trailer to haul a bunch of equipment for our outdoor worship service on the site of our new building, the shackle on one of the leaf springs broke away from the frame. It was a combination of rust, a heavy load, and very rough ground. In the past two weeks I have been tearing the trailer apart, cutting away sections of the frame that need to be replaced, grinding down the parts that can be saved and reused, and preparing everything for re-assembly. The sparks have been flying along with the dust and rust. Tomorrow a friend will come over with his welder, and we will begin the repair. It has been quite the project, and I look forward to when it is done so I can put the cars back in their home again.

As I spent three hours yesterday cutting and grinding the metal pieces of the trailer, I realized how important it is to be ground. Some pieces had to be discarded because they had not been properly protected from the elements and were seriously weakened by the rust that resulted from their exposure. Other pieces could be salvaged and strengthened by grinding away the rust. During the grinding, some pieces were re-shaped to better connect to the new pieces that would be installed. The ultimate result after painting will be a much stronger and longer-lasting trailer that will endure exposure to the corrupting influences of nature.

There are sufficient obvious applications for each of us in this illustration, and the Holy Spirit will make them if you open your heart to His teaching. How you choose to apply those applications will determine your outlook on life when you wake up tomorrow. Will it be “Back to the grind,” or “Back to the growth?”

Pastor John